If you spent your teen years like the average teenager, trying desperately to exercise your independence and separate yourself from your parents/families you may not understand why a 17 or 18 year old in foster care may want to be adopted. If the primary goals for you or your friends as teenagers were to obtain …

Every teen’s life is worth documenting. That documentation can happen in a scrapbook, a journal, or as with many youth in foster care it happens in a life book. A scrapbook contains an artsy collection of photos of (professional and unprofessional) special moments and fun life events. A journal can contain personal ideas and thoughts …

We surpassed our National Foster Care Awareness Month First Annual Pack A Backpack Drive™ goal by collecting 46 backpacks filled with personal hygiene items to teen males in foster homes, group homes, and homeless shelters during the month of May 2012. Thanks to our amazing donors, the backpacks were donated to KidsPeace, Prince George’s County …

Our final blog post for our National Foster Care Month blog series on teen males is a profile of foster care alumni and Foster Focus Magazine publisher Christopher Chmielewski. Christopher was adopted at an early age and grew up in the “coal region” of Pennsylvania. He entered foster care as a teen and eventually “aged-out” of …

Rich Korb is an author and educator with 34 years experience working with youth in traditional and alternative schools, residential facilities, and juvenile detention centers. He has also served as an athletic coach. Rich is known as the “Behavior Answer Man”. He shares his wisdom through Pioneer Education Consulting. As an Educator and Administrator …

Our National Foster Care Awareness Month blog series on teen males continues with George Fraser. George Fraser is a successful business man, renowned speaker, and author of three books. He is the founder of the annual PowerNetworking Conference, the largest gathering of Black professionals, business owners and community leaders. George Fraser was born in Brooklyn New …

Today we continue our National Foster Care Awareness Month blog series on teen males with the interview of another foster father with KidsPeace. Bob O’Connor and his wife Coco have been foster parents for 23 years. They have had short-term placements, long-term placements, and provided therapeutic foster care and respite care. They have been foster parents to …

Our fifth blog post in our National Foster Care Awareness Month blog series dedicated to teen males in foster care focuses on fatherhood. Dyral Brown is the single, foster father of two teen males ages 14 and 16. As a young professional, Dyral realized that he could connect with and have a positive influence on …

Today we continue our National Foster Care Awareness Month blog series on teen males in foster care by addressing mental health. Toni Hoy and her family have endured separation, loss of parental rights, and criminalization by the system put in place to protect children. Toni’s son, Daniel, has been placed in the Illinois foster care …